Essay: Radical Saul Alinsky: Prophet of Power to the People

SAUL ALINSKY
has possibly antagonized more peopleregardless of race, color or
creedthan any other living American. From his point of view, that
adds up to an eminently successful career: his aim in life is to make
people mad enough to fight for their own interests. "The only place you
really have consensus is where you have totalitarianism," he says, as
he organizes conflict as the only route to true progress. Like
Machiavelli, whom he has studied and admires, Alinsky teaches how power
may be used. Unlike Machiavelli,...